The Masked Ball

Here is the hall of "West Hall," on the night of the eighth of this past May, surging with dancers, women and men. Who are they? You cannot tell. The faces are masked, the costumes strange. And were it not that you see Mrs. Dodge, Dean Close and his wife, Mr. Tomasian and his bride, and others of the university notables, you would imagine that a new Noah's Ark had been built in the twentieth century, lacking nothing but a "flood" to cover every corner of the earth.

Only a short while passed before the masks began to slip away from the eyes. Here, for instance, is a band of Polish girls in their beautiful national dress... and Mr. Gabriel Nasr and his companion Miss Ellen Badr in an inventive costume studded with empty cigarette boxes... and Mr. Zein Ajlani in Caucasian attire that stirred admiration... and Miss Helen Tabshrani in a dress on which squash, tomatoes, and potatoes had ripened and come due for the picking... and Mr. Jalal Dahhan and his companion Miss Salwa Husri in Andalusian garb over which taste and beauty made merry...

And here too is Mr. Mohammad Najm in the character of a sailor... and Mrs. Loris Maalouf, Miss Samira Baddoura, and Mr. Nasri Salti playing Indian princesses and princes... and the Misses Layla Azouri and Najiba Osseiran appearing in Bedouin dress, and Mr. Paul Khallat transformed into a pirate of the Middle Ages... and many others besides who caught the eye and stirred admiration.

The party was interspersed with a great deal of mirth and gaiety, and a group of girl students performed a Greek dance in the dress of the ancient Greeks, as well as a splendid Polish dance.

And so the dancers plunged deep into merrymaking until a late hour.